The Milimani Anti-Corruption Court has issued an arrest warrant for Kisumu County City Manager Michael Abala Wanga, who failed to appear in court to answer charges of forgery, uttering false documents, and the fraudulent acquisition of public funds.
According to the Office Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Wanga is accused of altering a letter in order to attend the CLEAN Air Forum in Lagos, Nigeria, which was held between July 8 and 12, 2024.
The court heard that Wanga had acquired a total of Ksh283,402 in excess facilitation payments from the Kisumu County Government after allegedly presenting the forged letter as authentic and claiming that it had been issued by the University of Lagos.
Prosecutors told the court that the altered document was used to justify the excess payments.
“Today, we secured arrest warrants for Kisumu County official Michael Wanga over forged documents used to fraudulently acquire public funds,” the ODPP confirmed.
At the same time, the city administrator is alleged to be facing additional charges preferred against him that include fraudulently acquiring public property worth Ksh8,701,091 from the Kisumu County Government.
Wanga is also accused of forging a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate showing a mean grade of C+, allegedly issued by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), and presenting it as genuine.
Senior Principal Magistrate Zipporah Gichana issued the arrest warrant after Wanga failed to appear in court with the case scheduled for mention on November 25, this year.
The developments come after the City Manager was summoned by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for allegedly forging travel and employment documents to facilitate the payment of allowances to a female non-staff member on Thursday.
Wanga was ordered to report to the EACC Headquarters at the Integrity Centre in Nairobi for processing and arraignment, a directive he failed to comply with.
This followed a concurrence of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to prefer charges against him in relation to the allegations he is facing.
Meanwhile, Wanga becomes the latest government official to fall under the commission’s scrutiny as it intensifies its fight against corruption. On Friday, the EACC arrested Josphat Kabeabea, Chair of the Anti-Counterfeit Authority’s Board of Directors, over allegations that he demanded Ksh15 million in bribes in his role as the authority’s head.
The arrest took place on Friday, November 14, following a raid on his residence. The commission confirmed that Kabeabea allegedly demanded Ksh5 million on November 11 from a Chinese national, after previously accusing the individual’s company of selling counterfeit goods.
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